TWIF Notes 10/6/25
Welcome Back!
Wow! In what looked like a sleepy weekend with no (or few) big games, we instead had an upset weekend, as frequently happens.
This year, I decided to keep up with which teams I watch on tv, with a goal of seeing every team. Now, there is no way I can watch every team play a full game, so my criteria is seeing every team play at least one offensive and one defensive drive or series. So far, I have seen 119 of the 136 FBS teams, including every P4 team. I am only missing 1 team from the American (Navy), 3 from the Mountain West, 2 from the Sun Belt, 6 from the MAC, and 5 from CUSA. If that seems like I am prioritizing the G5 teams less, that is only partially true. My TV package does not include ESPN+ or CBS Sports Network, so I have to wait for teams to appear on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, SEC, BTN, or ACC networks. I also have the MWC app (it's free!), which allows me to watch contests from the Mountain West Conference that don't appear on other networks. For this reason, I'm looking forward to the midweek games in the MAC, CUSA, and SBC in October so I can catch those that don't normally make the "big" networks. Oh, and I also can't stay up to watch the late night games; I'm way too old for that!
Anyway, let's get into the winners and losers.
Winners
Georgia- The Bulldogs got back into the winning column with an impressive 35-14 win over Kentucky. The problem is the Dawgs only have one "easy" game left, and that's a home contest against Charlotte on Nov 22. Ironically, the Texas game may be the next easiest one on their schedule!
Alabama- The Crimson Tide handled a very tough Vanderbilt team and pulled away late to win 30-14. This was a 1-score game until late in the 4th quarter, as the Tide added 10 points in the last 4:11 of the game.
Texas A&M- The Aggies stifled Mississippi State 31-9, and at 5-0 are set up to challenge for an SEC Championship. Their next challenge is Florida at home this weekend.
Florida- The Gators finally got an FBS win, topping Texas 29-21. They played their usual stout defense, but found an offense to go with it (which always helps).
Ohio State- The Buckeyes just keep on rolling, pounding Minnesota 42-3. They have few challenges remaining, with the biggest being games at Illinois and Michigan, and Penn State at home.
Nebraska- The Cornhuskers got back on the winning side with a 38-27 win over Michigan State.
Washington- The Huskies were down 20-0 in the 3rd quarter, but came back to defeat Maryland 24-20. With the win, UW bounces back from their loss to OSU last week.
UCLA- The Bruins finally got a win, rolling to a big lead before holding on over Penn State by a score of 42-37. And this was an offense that had only scored 57 points in their 1st 4 games (less than 15 ppg). Now the question looms: is this the start of a new trend or just a one-off?
Northwestern- Don't look now, but the Wildcats are 3-2/1-1, and just 1 win from matching their 2024 total. After a 42-7 stomping of ULM, the Cats get to travel to (Un)Happy Valley to take on Penn State.
Clemson- The Tigers finally got another win, crushing UNC 38-10. With the win, Clemson is back in the ACC race, though they are playing from behind at 1-2 in the conference.
Miami, Fl- The Hurricanes have some of the best wins in CFB after besting FSU 28-22. The Canes have wins over Notre Dame, USF, Florida, and now the Seminoles, and this looks like a legitimate national title contender.
Duke- The Blue Devils destroyed Cal 45-21 after spotting the Golden Bears a 21-7 lead. Duke is tied with UVA at 3-0 at the top of the ACC.
Virginia- The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC after surviving Louisville 30-24 last weekend, and could be favored in 5 of their remaining 6 games.
Wake Forest- The Demon Deacons finally got an ACC win after 2 close losses, easing past Va Tech 30-23.
Baylor- The Bears are back in the Big 12 race after an exciting 35-34 win over Kansas State.
Texas Tech- The Red Raiders blasted Houston 35-11, and at 5-0, have won all 5 games by at least 24 points each. Next up are Kansas and Arizona State, the latter on the road. TTU should be favored in all of their remaining games, and are the favorite to nab one of the spots in the Big 12 CG.
BYU- The Cougars topped West Virginia 38-24 to remain undefeated, and they very well could be 6-0 when they host Utah on Oct 18.
Cincinnati- The Bearcats got by Iowa State 38-30 to get to 4-1 on the year, and 2-0 in the Big 12. Cincy seems to be much improved, but have huge tests against Baylor and at Utah coming up.
Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish easily dispatched Boise State by a 28-7 score. What they need now is for the Broncos to catch fire and win the MWC, turning this result into a quality win. If BS continues to stumble, then this won't count for much.
UConn- The Huskies are already 4-2, with both losses in OT on the road. They are off this week, but could get a P4 win if they can take down Boston College in Chestnut Hill in 2 weeks.
Memphis- The Tigers continue to roll along, improving to 6-0 with a 45-7 win over Tulsa. Memphis is the 1st team to reach bowl eligibility!
Navy- The Naval Academy stayed undefeated at 5-0 with their closest win yet, 34-31 over Air Force. The Midshipmen, with the nation's leading rushing offense, won by throwing for 339 yards and 3 TDs!
Army- The Black Knights may have righted their season with a 31-13 win over UAB, and a win over Charlotte this weekend would even their record at 3-3/2-2.
FAU- The Owls defeated Rice 27-21, earning just their 2nd American Conference win in the last 2 years, and they are now one win shy of matching their 3 wins from last season.
Temple- The Owls upset UTSA 27-21 to open conference play with a win.
UNLV- The Rebels won 31-17 at Wyoming in the hail and snow to remain unbeaten at 5-0. Their next 2 games- Air Force and at Boise State- could determine if they finish that way, as the rest of their schedule is manageable.
Fresno State- The Bulldogs have quietly run their record to 5-1 with a 20-17 win over Nevada. FS seems like a likely candidate to meet UNLV in the MWC CG, if they can win at Boise State and SJSU, and over SDSU at home.
San Diego State- Like Fresno State, the Aztecs have a sneaky good 4-1/1-0 record to start the season, and they play the same 2 teams that FS does, except SDSU gets them at home.
James Madison- The Dukes won a tougher than expected 14-7 contest at Georgia State to run their record to 2-0 in the SBC and 4-1 overall. They have a massive home date with ODU coming up in 2 weeks after Louisiana visits first.
ODU- The Monarchs obliterated CCU 47-7 to move to 4-1/1-0, but now have 2 SBC road games on tap- at Marshall and at JMU.
Arkansas State- The Red Wolves got their 1st FBS win of the season, eking by Texas State 31-30.
Akron and Ball State- The Zips and Cardinals got their 1st FBS wins of the season by defeating CMU 28-22 and Ohio 20-14 respectively.
WKU- The Hilltoppers appear well on their way to a spot in the CUSA CG with a 27-24 win at Delaware, making them 5-1/3-0.
Losers
Texas- The Longhorns are now just 3-2 after their 29-21 loss to Florida. The 29 points scored by the Gators was 13 more than they had scored in any previous contest this season, and the most given up by the Horns so far.
Kentucky- The Wildcats seem like a team going nowhere, and they aren't even going there fast; they're just stuck in the mud. Following their 35-14 loss to Georgia, the Cats are just waiting for basketball season to start.
Mississippi State- The Bulldogs fall to 0-2 in the SEC after losing 31-9 to Texas A&M, and now we're left wondering (again) when they'll get their 1st conference win since 2023. They're off this week before traveling to The Swamp to take on Florida.
Penn State- The Nittany Lions just had their season implode with a 42-37 loss to previously winless UCLA. This is the 1st time PSU has alowed 42+ points in a regular season game since 2022, and at 0-2 in the Big Ten, have almost no hope of getting back to the conference championship game. In addition, they will have to beat either Ohio State or Indiana (assuming they win the rest of their games) in order to even be considered for the CFP, and that would still be a long shot, unless they win out.
Minnesota- The Golden Gophers are no closer to the top of the Big Ten. It seems they have made virtually no progress at moving up from the middle of the pack, as illustrated by their 42-3 loss to Ohio State.
Wisconsin- The Badgers played well for a half before succumbing to Michigan 24-10. This is another team going nowhere, as they have now lost 3 in a row. And just look at the rest of their schedule: Iowa, Ohio State, at Oregon, Washington, at Indiana, Illinois, and at Minnesota. This looks like a 2-10 or 3-9 season at best.
Maryland- The Terrapins fell 24-20 to Washington after building a 20-0 lead in the 3rd quarter. Each of the last 5 years, the Terps have started the season no worse than 3-1, but then collapsed once October rolls around. Will this season turn out the same?
FSU- The Seminoles lost 28-22 to Miami, which is their 2nd consecutive loss, dropping them to 3-2/0-2. All the good vibes from beating Alabama in the opener have evaporated.
Louisville- The Cardinals lost their 1st game of the season to UVA 30-24 in OT. This almost pushes them out of the ACC race as they still have games at Miami and SMU, and Clemson at home.
North Carolina- The Tar Heels have now been outscored 120-33 by their 3 FBS opponents after their 38-10 loss to Clemson. UNC is very close to being the worst P4 team in FBS, if they aren't already there.
Syracuse- The Orange have now lost 2 straight games, and weren't really competitive in either, falling 31-18 at SMU. Fortunately, they are off this week.
Boston College- The Eagles fell 48-7 to Pitt, and BC still doesn't have an FBS win, as they are 0-3 in the ACC.
Iowa State- The Cyclones suffered their 1st loss of the season, dropping a 38-30 decision at Cincinnati.
Kansas State- The Wildcats continue to have bad luck, as at 2-4, they have lost those 4 games by a combined 14 points, with their biggest loss by 7 to Army at home. This latest loss- by 35-34 at Baylor- ends their hopes for a Big 12 Championship, as 3 losses will be nearly impossible to overcome.
Houston- The Cougars lost their 1st game to Texas Tech by a score of 35-11, but should be able to regroup at Oklahoma State this weekend.
UCF- The Knights fell to 0-2 in the Big 12 following a 27-20 loss to Kansas, which likely ends any hopes of winning the Big 12.
Oregon State- The Beavers are 0-6 after losing 27-23 to App State when they couldn't score a TD at the end of the game, despite having multiple plays from the 1-yd line. I only see a chance for 2 wins on the remaining schedule, and one of those is an FCS team.
UTSA- The Roadrunners lost 27-21 at Temple, who was projected to be one of the worst teams in the American Conference. With games at North Texas and USF, and vs Tulane, ECU and Army at home, their hopes for a conference championship are on life support.
Rice- The Owls had a chance to get a win to improve their chances at a bowl, but instead lost to FAU 27-21 at home, all but ending their bowl hopes, based on their remaining schedule.
Boise State- The Broncos are probably eliminated from making the CFP even if they win the MWC, as they lost to Notre Dame 28-7. In my opinion, this game wasn't close enough to justify putting them in over an American Conference champion, who will probably only have one loss at most.
Air Force- The Falcons fell to 1-4/0-3 with a 34-31 loss at Navy, and they've now lost 11 of their last 15 FBS games. Could Troy Calhoun be the next long-time HC to be let go?
Colorado State- The Rams put up little resistance in a 24-45 loss at San Diego State. They are now 1-4/0-1 with no FBS wins.
Texas State- The Bobcats were upset by Arkansas State 31-30, whose only other win was over an FCS team in their opener. Every team in the SBC West now has at least 2 losses overall.
South Alabama- The Jaguars are a miserable 1-5 after losing 31-24 at Troy in OT.
Ohio- The Bobcats were upset by Ball State 20-14. The Cardinals had not defeated an FBS team before this.
Central Michigan- The Chippewas became the first FBS victim of Akron, losing 28-22 in Akron.
UMass- The Minutemen stayed winless with a 21-3 loss to WMU. This was their closest FBS loss.
Sam Houston- The Bearkats remain winless at 0-5 after a 37-10 loss to NMSU. All 5 losses have been by at least 17 points.
Delaware- The Fightin' Blue Hens lost 27-24 to WKU when they missed a potential game-tying FG late.
Conference Races
Here is where the teams stand early in the season. This will be fluid throughout the season, as teams may move up or down.
SEC
Big Ten
ACC
Big 12
American
Mountain West
Sun Belt East
Sun Belt West
MAC
CUSA
That's it for this week! Come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings!
Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!
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